That Time We Jumped on a Giant Water Ball Thing

I only slept three hours last night, because I was distracted making this program that draws lines in pretty colors... not fodder for blog.  I was working in my room, looking at pictures of people that were working downstairs.  Creepy much?

In any case, today things returned to a little more of the normal state for MEET affairs.  I got up around 9:30 or so.  (My phone got banana-ed, so my alarm clock is Anna waking me up... I'll have to get an actual alarm soon.... or not!!)  After breakfast, we all headed to the Office (a room in the basement) for the first of the pair of Teaching Workshops.  I found these incredibly useful last year.  It was kind of intimidating to stand up in front of everyone and deliver a short little presentation, even though it should not have been.  Then again, I was just scared in general about my performance last year, given my supreme lack of Java knowledge.  But whatevs!  Everyone does it, we make mistakes, we learn from them.

(Ted watching the instant replay of his 5 minute lecture.)

Primetime Lineup:

Ted --> Teaching

Nick --> Musicy stuff

Rishi --> Mathy stuff

Amelia --> mergeSort

Woody ---> Skydiving

Harpreet --> Indian Food

(Amelia, in one of her many awesome dresses.)

We then headed over to the MEET office for another round of Working with Teen workshops with Eden.  My group was supposed to be in the late shift, but we got switched to the early shift.  So around 2pm-ish we started the session.

Last time we had focused on the internal and external worlds of the teenager.  Today, we focused on the differences between girls and boys, and between Israelis and Palestinians.  Eden had us put on nametags with made up names (I was Dan), and then read out tidbits from our character's life history.

We got treats for each of the tidbits, and for the really good ones, our treats had stars.  If we had enough stars, we were admitted to the world of science and technology, but most of the girls were left behind.

This started us into the topic of gender differences in MEET.  Girls tend to score lower on exams than boys.  The question is, why?  Is it something systemic in MEET that promotes the division, or just Summers' Presidency-ending "inherent differences between the sexes" that drives these barriers to success.

It was a surprisingly heated discussion.  Well, heated for what is a generally laid back crowd.  The issue of gender disparity strikes home more for some than for others.  But, we were able to brainstorm at least some ideas before getting sidetracked into nuances of particulars.

After a break for food, we returned to continue the session for another hour-ish.  This time, we were focusing on cultural differences.  More precisely, we talked about the misconceptions of Israelis towards Palestinians and vice versa.  We have grouped people into these little well-defined boxes, but the terms "Palestinians" and "Israelis" are misleading if you're trying to set up a dichotomy.  This is not merely a Muslim/Jew issue or an Arabic-speaking/Hebrew-speaking issue... it's much more complicated than that (and maybe a quarter of our students are Christian anyway!)  So, we've just got these Palestinian and Israeli buckets, that categorize people more on stereotypes than perhaps they would categorize themselves.  Nevertheless, it was not without reason.  Eden spread out some color cardboard dots on the floor and had us go around the circle reading them.  Some were facts, most were quotes from Israelis or Palestinians about the other side (or the other bucket, I guess).

Eden said they weren't quoted from our students, but they could have been.  They could have been lifted straight from the worries of a Palestinian student who knew her Israeli friends would be different once they reached the army.  Or the Israeli student who spoke of the terrorism on buses, and how she had to live with the constant knowledge that people wanted her dead.  They could have been taken from American citizens just as easily in some cases, like "The Jews have all the money and power" or "The Arabs all want us to die."

Perhaps it is not the case that all the students have strong preconceptions about the other side, but even if they don't articulate it, or even if they articulate neutrality or indifference, I find it hard to believe that they could grow up in a society such as this and not start to believe the judgements they constantly hear.  Is it any different than the racial discrimination against African-Americans or immigrants?  Is it any different than the fear instilled by 9/11, and it's aftermath?

I will be the first to admit that one reason I am interested in the Arab culture is because it has been so misrepresented to me.  When I told people in the US I was taking Arabic, they sometimes asked why I'm learning a "terrorist language."  It is a "joke" when they say it, perhaps.  Or perhaps it is an outward reflexion of their inner feelings.  The old cliche goes: Most truths are said in jest.  But, how can I reprehend them for this?  It's hypocritical for me to call them out on it, when I've grown up in the same world with the same stereotypes.  Before coming here, when I saw a Middle Eastern man, yes, sometimes I felt a little concerned for my well being.  It's irrational, but it's what I've been trained to feel by scary movies, or media coverage of "terrorism."  But I'll go beyond that and say that it still happens to me now. We are conditioned by fear, an intense weapon that has sparked many a war.  It is hard to break that mold.

Being here is a chance for us to see the other side of the coin.  Some of the instructors last year were uncomfortable living in EJ.  For many, it was the first time they had to deal head on with the sorts of stereotypes that we have engrained in our self-conscious, by our families, our friends, our teachers, etc.  It's a (un?)pleasant discomfort, but only the trying situations can make you a better individual.  Without challenges, we remain stagnant.

I do not prefer living on this side.  It's not because EJ was cheaper, or because EJ has signs galore in a language that I can now read.  It's because I don't have to test my boundaries here, I'm not pushing myself to confront the issues that I want to deal with.  But, that being said, there is still plenty to learn here, even if it is less challenging.  And quite soon, I won't have time to consider my personal development; rather, I'll need to focus on the personal development of 40 other people.

See, there were emotions there.  The events aren't going to change much, so I guess this year, the blog will have more emotions.

Ramble.

After the session ended, I worked a lot, and the other half of the instructors attended the first round session with Eden.  Then, we walked down to Ben Yahuda street, the crowded pedestrian thoroughfare in the city center.

After wandering around the street, no one settled upon something to eat, so we went back to the Chinese place.  It was quite ironic to be eating Chinese food in Jerusalem, which is really the point of going there!

Afterwards, the majority of the instructors drove back to campus, but Rishi, Bryan, Amanda, and I opted to walk.  I really enjoy walking through cities and exploring them.  I love "getting lost" without getting lost, by which I mean, having a general idea of where you are, but not knowing exactly.  It comes, perhaps, from the experience of driving around for hours in my hometown, going nowhere in particular (gas was more like $1/gal back then), and somehow finding my way back.  It's how I found my favorite road to drive on (a winding road near Cramerton Middle School) and an amazing road to watch the sunset while driving (a less-winding road near Hunter Huss High School).  I just listened to jazz music or NPR and thought and wandered.

So, I can't tell you where we were.  Well, I can.  I can look it up at tell you exactly where we were.  But, it's best not to.

пока.